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Saturday, June 11, 2016

The
Search for the Political and Health Care Center

On weekends,I engage in two activities:

One,I read the Wall Street Journal on Saturday and the New York Times on Sunday

Two,I watch PBS
on Saturday and Fox News on Sunday.

Seeking the Center

What am I doing? To
use California Governor Jerry Brown’s expression,I row the political canoe a little on the
Right and a little on the Left, to stay in the Center. I am searching for that Mythical Center of
America, where right and left converge.I am looking for that Magical Mix of Checks and Balances, which the
Constitution promised to balance powers of the legislative, executive, and
judicial branches of government.

Four
Goals

To me the coming election and the fate of ObamaCare are all
aboutachievingfour goals:

·Limiting the money we can spend to advance the agenda of government control and making Social
Security and health care entitlements sustainable.

·Advancing the cause of free markets and free choice
by limiting the power of government to
regulate, to tax, and to slow and cripple economic growth.

·Providing equal opportunities of all citizens to
realize the American dream of individual
liberties.

·Determining, through open debate, discussion,
and votes, the Center of the American belief system in society and government.

Center
Right

I am a center right person.

Ibelieve governmenthasa fundamental indispensable role to playin protecting citizens againstbusiness abusesand funding a health care safety net.But doubling of the national debt from $10
trillion to $20 trillion over the last 8 years is too much, so is the unsustainablegrowing CMS expenditures of $1 trillion, so is the projected ObamaCare cost of $2 trillion
over the next 10 years, and so is President Obama’s habit of unilateral
executive actions, including passing of
ObamaCare without a single Republican vote.

I also have these beliefs; that
private enterprise and private
marketsare key to economic prosperity
and are the only proven historical way, to use John Kennedy’sphrase, to lift all economic boats; and that the intent of the Constitution
was that the House of Representatives could provide the money to approve of Executive
Actions before those actions can be carried out.

Checks
and Balances, in That Order

In other words,as a Center Right person,I believe in Checks and Balances,in that
order.

On health care issues,the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Acthas not protected
the middle class citizens of this middle class nation,nor,with its 8 year track record of relentlessly increasing costs, and
escalating premiums and deductibles,has
it made health care more affordable. And finally, ObamaCare has created a
situation that has spawned a growing physician shortage and decreased access to
care and choice of physicians.

What is good or rational aboutsubsidized health care for 12.7 million citizensif it makes health care unaffordable for the 180 million
unsubsidized Americans not on Medicaid or Medicare?The answer to that question is at the core
of the debate about where the Center of American politics and American Core
Beliefs should reside.

The Health Reform Maze

Buy the Book

Book Description: In this first book in a series of four, Richard L. Reece, MD. provides a unique view of the roll out, and run up, of the Affordable Care Act. Reece shows in this book the progress and facets of ObamaCare's marketers and messengers, as the day approached for the launch of health insurance exchanges - the single most public and problematic portion of the new law. This is a must read for anyone who wants to chronicle this attempt to organize more than one-sixth of the U.S. economy by adding layers of federal government control and regulations.

Reece has been writing about U.S. health care for more than 45 years. His knowledge and experience, added to his keen intellect and gift of subtle humor, make this book a valuable part of anyone's collection.